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iilassiac|)usetts ^octet? 
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3ns!tttttt«rn, jBj>=I.atDS 



1908 






Institution of the Society of the Cincinnati . . 3 

Rule of 1854 . . . . . . . 9 

Act of Incorporation of the Massachusetts Society of 

the Cincinnati . . . . . .10 

By-Laws . . . . . . . .11 



''2«5oV 1912 



t!Cf)e Snsitttutton 

of ti)e 

^ocietp of tf)e Cincinnati 



With notes by the Hon. Asa Bird Gardiner, Secretary General, reprinted 

BY HIS kind permission. 

Cantonment of the American Army, on Hudson's River, 10th May, 1783. 

Proposals* for establishing a society, upon principles therein mentioned, 
whose Members shall be officers of the American Army, having been communicated 
to the several regiments of the respective lines, they appointed an officer from each, 
who, in conjunction with the general officers, should take the same into considera- 
tion at their meeting this day, at which the Honorable Major General Baron de 
Steuben, the senior officer present, was pleased to preside. f 

The proposals being read, fully considered, paragraph by paragraph, and the 
amendments agreed to. Major General Knox, Brigadier General Hand, 
Brigadier General Huntington and Captain Shaw, were chosen to revise the 
same, and prepare a copy to be laid before this assembly at their next meeting, to 
be holden at Major General Baron de Steuben's quarters, on Tuesday, the 13th 
instant. 

Tuesday, 13th May, 1783. 

The representatives of the American Army being assembled! agreeably to 
adjournment, the plan for establishing a Society, whereof the officers of the Ameri- 
can Army are to be Members, is accepted, and is as follows, viz. : 

" It having pleased the Supreme Governor of the Universe, in the disposition 
of human affairs, to cause the separation of the colonies of North America from the 
domination of Great Britain, and, after a bloody conflict of eight years, to establish 
them free, independent and sovereign States, connected, by alliances founded on 
reciprocal advantage, with some of the great princes and powers of the earth; 

♦These "Proposals" were in the handwriting of Major-General Henry Knox, Chief of Artillery and Command- 
ant of West Point and its dependencies, and are dated "West Point, 15th April, 1783." 

tThe meeting to consider and act on them was held in the "Public Building," sometimes called the New 
Building or Temple, which had been erected for Chaplaincy services and other public purposes at the Cantonments 
of the Main Continental Army at New Windsor, on the west side of the Hudson, near Newburgh, in the State of 
New York. Baron de Steuben's quarters were at theiVerplanck Mansion, near Fishkill on the east side of Hudson 
river. 

JThis representation included all the Continental General Officers in the Cantonments, other than Brigadier 
General John Stark, and delegates respectivelyfrom the Continental Staff Corps of the Adjutant General's, Quarter- 
master General's, Commissary General's, Surgeon General's and Clothier General's Departments, Continental 
Corps of Engineers and Sappers and MLaers, Second and Third Regiments Continental Corps of Artillery, Continen- 
tal Cavalry and Artillery Artificers and Continental Canadian and Invalid Regiments, and from the much reduced 
Continental lines of infantry then in camp, viz.: eight regiments from Massachusetts, three from Connecticut, two 
from New York, one regiment and a battalion of four companies from New Jersey, and four companies from 
Maryland 

The First Regiment, New Hampshire Continental Infantry, and the Second Regiment of the same, then re- 
duced to a battalion of four companies, although stationed in the cantonments, were not represented in the meet- 
ings of 10th-13th May, 1783. 

The regiment of Rhode Island Continental Infantry was then on duty at Saratoga Barracks, on the upper 
Hudson River, at Schuylerville, N. Y., while the Continental lines of infantry of the other States were in the 
Southern or Western Military Departments. 



C^e S>ocietp of t[)e CtncinRatt 



" To perpetuate, therefore, as well the remembrance of this vast event, as the 
mutual friendships which have been formed under the pressure of common danger, 
and, in many instances, cemented by the blood of the parties, the officers of the 
American Army do hereby, in the most solemn manner, associate, constitute and 
combine themselves into one Society of Friends, to endure as long as they shall 
endure, or any of their eldest male posterity,* and, in failure thereof, the collateral 
branches t who may be judged worthy of becoming its supporters and Members. 

" The officers of the American Army having generally been taken from the 
citizens of America, possess high veneration for the character of that illustrious 
Roman, Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus; and being resolved to follow his example, 
by returning to their citizenship, they think they may with propriety denominate 
themselves — 

€|e dS>ocietp of tlfte Cincinnati 

" The following principles shall be immutable and form the basis of the Society of 
the Cincinnati: 

" An incessant attention to preserve inviolate those exalted rights 

AND liberties OF HUMAN NATURE, FOR WHICH THEY HAVE FOUGHT AND BLED, AND 
WITHOUT WHICH THE HIGH RANK OF A RATIONAL BEING IS A CURSE INSTEAD OF A 
BLESSING. 

" An UNALTERABLE DETERMINATION TO PROMOTE AND CHERISH, BETWEEN 
THE RESPECTIVE StATES, THAT UNION AND NATIONAL HONOR SO ESSENTIALLY 
NECESSARY TO THEIR HAPPINESS, AND THE FUTURE DIGNITY OF THE AMERICAN 
EMPIRE. 

" to render permanent the cordial affection subsisting among the 
officers: This spirit will dictate brotherly kindness in all things, and 
particularly, extend to the most substantial acts of beneficence, accord- 
ing to the ability of the society, towards those officers and their families, 
who unfortunately may be under the necessity of receiving it. 

" The General Society will, for the sake of frequent communications, be di- 
vided into State Societies, and these again into such districts as shall be directed 
by the State Society. 

*At the time the provision was adopted confining hereditary membership to "any of their eldest male posterity, 
and, in failure thereof, the collateral branches who may be judged worthy," the law of England as to primo- 
geniture prevailed in the original thirteen States, and it was deemed that the one who inherited the family estate, 
and, therefore, remained at home, would best be able to give effect to the national patriotic and benevolent objects 
of the Institution. 

The law of primogeniture, as stated by Blackstone (Book II.. Chap. 14), was as follows: 

" I. — A general rule or canon is, that the male issue shall be admitted before the female. 
" II. — Where there are two or more males, in equal degree, the eldest only shall inherit;'but the females 
" all together. 

" HI. — Thelineal descendants, in infinitum, of any person deceased shall represent their ancestor; that 
" is, shall stand in the same place as the person himself would have done, had he been living. 

" Thus the child, grandchild or great-grandchild (either male or female) of the eldest son "succeeds 
" before the younger son, and so in infinitum. 

".IV. — On failure of lineal descendants, or issue, of the person last seized, the inheritance shall descend 
" to his collateral relations, being of the blood of the first purchaser: subject to the three preceding rules. 
" V. — The collateral heir of the person last seized must be his next collateral kinsman of the whole blood. 
'' First, he must be his next collateral kinsman, either personally or jure representationis: which prox- 
" jmity is reckoned according to the canonical degrees of consanguinity before mentioned. * * The 
" issue or descendants, therefore, of John Stiles' brother are all of them in the first degree of kindred with 
" respect to inheritances, those of his uncle in the second, those of his great-uncle in the third; as their re- 
" spective ancestors, if living, would have been; and are severally called to the succession in right of such, 
" their representative proximity. * * Thus, if John Stiles dies without issue, his estate shall descend to 
" Francis, his brother, or his representatives; he being lineally descended from Geoffrey Stiles, John's next 
".immediate ancestor, or father." 
,, Tjiese rules of primogeniture were modified by the Institution of the Cincinnati, under the limitation clause 
of eldest male posterity," so that every male descendant of anlOriginal Member should be entitled to preference in 
succession and as nextlof kin over any male descendant through an intervening female descendant. In other words, 
male descendants of the surname of the Original Memberjshould be preferred over male descendants through inter- 
mediate females whose surnames were different. 

tThe words: "and in failure thereof, the collateral branches," were not .in the "Proposals " but deliberately 
mserted as an amendment thereto. 



QTIlie S>acietp of t^t Ctiuinnati 



" The Societies of the districts to meet as often as shall be agreed upon by the 
State Society, those of the State on the fourth day of July annually, or oftener, if 
they shall find it expedient, and the General Society on the first Moftday in May, 
annually, so long as they shall deem it necessary, and afterwards, at least once in 
every three years. 

" At each meeting, the principles of the Institution will be fully considered, 
and the best measures to promote them adopted. 

" The State Societies will consist of all the members resident in each State 
respectively; and any member removing from one State to another, is to be con- 
sidered, in all respects, as belonging to the Society of the State in which he shall 
actually reside. 

" The State Societies to have a President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, 
and Assistant Treasurer, to be chosen annually, by a majority of votes, at the State 
meeting. 

" Each State meeting shall write annually, or oftener, if necessary, a circular 
letter, to the State Societies, noting whatever they may think worthy of observa- 
tion, respecting the good of the Society, or the general union of the States, and giv- 
ing information of the officers chosen for the current year: copies of these letters 
shall be regularly transmitted to the Secretary-General of the Society, who will 
record them in a book to be assigned for that purpose. 

" The State Society will regulate everything respecting itself and the Societies 
of its districts consistent with the general maxims of the Cincinnati, judge of the 
qualifications of the members who may be proposed, and expel any member who, 
by a conduct inconsistent with a gentleman and a man of honor, or by an opposition 
to the interests of the community in general, or the Society in particular, may render 
himself unworthy to continue a member. 

" In order to form funds which may be respectable, and assist the unfortunate, 
each officer shall deliver to the Treasurer of the State Society one month's pay, 
which shall remain for ever to the use of the State Society; the interest only of 
which, if necessary, to be appropriated to the relief of the unfortunate. 

" Donations may be made by persons not of the Society, and by members of 
the Society, for the express purpose of forming permanent funds for the use of the 
State Society, and the interests of these donations appropriated in the same manner 
as that of the month's pay. 

" Moneys, at the pleasure of each member, may be subscribed in the Societies 
of the districts, or the State Societies, for the relief of the unfortunate members, 
or their widows and orphans, to be appropriated by the State Society only. 

" The meeting of the General Society shall consist of its officers and a repre- 
sentation from each State Society, in number not exceeding five, whose expenses 
shall be borne by their respective State Societies. 

" In the general meeting, the President, Vice-President, Secretary, Assistant 
Secretary, Treasurer, and Assistant Treasurer-Generals, shall be chosen to serve 
until the next meeting. 

" The circular letters which have been written by the respective State Societies 
to each other, and their particular laws, shall be read and considered, and all 
measures concerted which may conduce to the general intendment of the Society. 

" It is probable that some persons may make donations to the General Society, 
for the purpose of establishing funds for the further comfort of the unfortunate, in 
which case, such donations must be placed in the hands of the Treasurer-General, 
the interests only of which to be disposed of, if necessary, by the general meeting. 



6 Qri)e ^octetp of tfee Cincinnati 

" All the officers of the American army, as well those who have resigned with 
honor, after three years' service in the capacity of officers, or who have been de- 
ranged by the resolution of Congress upon the several reforms of the army, as those 
who shall have continued to the end of the war, have the right to become parties 
to this institution; provided that they subscribe one month's pay, and sign their 
names to the general rules, in their respective State Societies, those who are present 
with the Army immediately; and others within six months after the Army shall be 
disbanded, extraordinary cases excepted; the rank, time of service, resolution of 
Congress by which any have been deranged, and place of residence must be added 
to each name — and as a testimony of affection to the memory and the offspring of 
such officers as have died in the service, their eldest male branches shall have the same 
right of becoming members, as the children of the actual members of the Society. 

" Those officers who are foreigners, not resident in any of the States, will have 
their names enrolled by the Secretary-General, and are to be considered as members 
in the Societies of any of the States in which they may happen to be. 

" And as there are, and will at all times be, men in the respective States emi- 
nent for their abilities and patriotism, whose views may be directed to the same 
laudable objects, with those of the Cincinnati, it shall be a rule to admit such 
characters, as Honorary Members of the Society, for their own lives only: Pro- 
vided always. That the number of Honorary Members, in each State, does not 
exceed a ratio of one to four of the officers or their descendants. 

" Each State Society shall obtain a list of its members, and at the first annual 
meeting, the State Secretary shall have engrossed, on parchment, two copies of the 
Institution of the Society, which every member present shall sign, and the Secretary 
shall endeavor to procure the signature of every absent member; one of those lists 
to be transmitted to the Secretary-General, to be kept in the archives of the So- 
ciety, and the other to remain in the hands of the State Secretary. From the State 
lists, the Secretary-General must make out, at the first general meeting, a complete 
list of the whole Society, with a copy of which he will furnish each State Society. 

" The Society shall have an Order, by which its members shall be known and 
distinguished, which shall be a medal of gold, of a proper size to receive the em- 
blems, and suspended by a deep blue riband two inches wide, edged with white, 
descriptive of the union of France and America, viz. : 

'.'. The principal figure, 

CINCINNATUS: 

Three Senators presenting him with a sword and other military ensigns — on a field in the background, his wife 
standing at the door of their Cottage — near it 

A. PLOUGH AND INSTRUMENTa OP HU8BANDET. 

Round the whole, 

OMNIAIRELIQUIT SERVARE REMPUBLIOAM. 

On the reverse. 

Sun rising — a city with open gates, and vessels entering the port — Fame crowning CINCINNATUS 

with a wreath, inscribed 

VIRTUTIS PRAEMIUM. 
Below, 

HANDS JOINED, SUPPORTINO A HEART, 

With the motto, 

ESTO PERPETUA. 

Round the whole, 

SOCIETAS CINCINNATORUM INSTITUTA, 

A. D. 1783." 



C^e ^ocietjp of t(e Ctndnnati 



The Society, deeply impressed with a sense of the generous assistance this 
country has received from France, and desirous of perpetuating the friendships 
which have been formed, and so happily subsisted, between the officers of the 
allied forces in the prosecution of the war, direct that the President-General trans- 
mit, as soon as may be, to each of the characters hereafter named, a medal con- 
taining the Order of the Society, viz. : 

His Excellency the Chevalier de la Luzerne, Minister Plenipotentiary, 
His Excellency the Sieur Gerard, late Minister Plenipotentiary, 
Their Excellencies 

The Count de Estaing, 

The Count de Grasse, 

The Count de Barras, 

The Chevalier des Touches, 

Admirals and Commanders in the Navy. 
His Excellency the Count de Rochambeau, Commander in Chief, 

And the Generals and Colonels of his army, and acquaint them, that the Society 
does itself the honor to consider them members. 

Resolved, That a copy of the aforegoing Institution be given to the senior officer 
of each State line, and that the officers of the respective State lines sign their names 
to the same, in manner and form following, viz. : 

" We the subscribers, oflScers of the American army, do hereby voluntarily become parties 
to the foregoing Institution, and do bind ourselves to observe, and be governed by, the principles 
therein contained. For the performance whereof we do solemnly pledge to each other our sacred 
honor. 

" Done in the Cantonment on Hudson's River, in the year 1783." 

That the members of the Society, at the time of subscribing their names to the 
Institution, do also assign a draft on the Paymaster-General, in the following terms 
(the regiments to do it regimentally, and the generals and other officers not belong- 
ing to regiments, each for himself, individually), viz.: 

" To John Pierce, Esquire, Pay-Master General to the Army of the United States: 

" Sir: Please to pay to Treasurer for the State association 

of the Cincinnati, or his order, one month's pay of our several grades respectively, and deduct the 
same from the balance which shall be foimd due to us on the final liquidation of our accounts; for 
which this shall be your warrant." 

That the members of the several State Societies assemble as soon as may be, 
for the choice of their President and other officers; and that the Presidents corres- 
pond together, and appoint a meeting of the officers who may be chosen from each 
State, in order to pursue such further measures as may be judged necessary. 

That the General officers, and the officers delegated to represent the several 
corps of the Army, subscribe to the Institution of the General Society, for themselves 
and their constituents, in the manner and form before prescribed. 

That General Heath, General Baron de Steuben, and General Knox, 
be a committee to wait on his Excellency the Commander-in-Chief, with a copy of 
the Institution, and request him to honor the Society by placing his name at the 
head of it. 

That Major General William Heath, second in command in this Army, be, 
and he hereby is, desired to transmit copies of the Institution, with the proceedings 
thereon, to the commanding officer of the Southern Army, the senior officer in each 



(}L^t S>ocietp of tde Cincinnati 



State, from Pennsylvania to Georgia, inclusive, and to the commanding officer of 
the Rhode Island line, requesting them to communicate the same to the officers 
under their several commands, and to take such measures as may appear to them 
necessary for expediting the establishment of their State Societies, and sending a 
delegation to represent them in the first general meeting, to be holden on the first 
Monday in May, 1784. 

The meeting then adjourned without day. 



Atalater meetingof said delegates, held June 19, 1783, the Baron de Steuben 
having communicated a letter from Maj or L' Enfant, enclosing a design of the medal 
and order, containing the emblems of the Institution, 

Resolved, That the bald eagle, carrying the emblems on its breast, be estab- 
lished as the order of the Society, and that the ideas of Major L' Enfant, respecting 
it and the manner of its being worn by the members, be adopted. That the order 
be of the same size, and in every other respect conformable to the said design, which 
for that purpose is certified by the Baron de Steuben, President of this Convention 
and to be deposited in the archives of the Society, as the original, from which all 
copies are to be made. Also, that silver medals, not exceeding the size of a Spanish 
milled dollar, with the emblems, as designed by Major L'Enfant, and certified by 
the President, be given to each and every member of the Society, together with a 
diploma, on parchment, whereon shall he impressed the exact figures of the order and 
medal, as above mentioned; anything in the original Institution, respecting gold medals, 
to the contrary notwithstanding. 



QTie a>actetp of t^t Cintinruiti 



%tft Ivule of 1854 



At the Triennial meeting of the General Society held in the City of Baltimore, 
18th May, 1854, the following resolutions respecting the succession and admission 
of members were unanimously adopted: 

1 — "Resolved, That each State Society shall have the full right and 
" power to regulate the admission of members, both as to the qualifica- 
" tions of members and the terms of admission. Provided, that ad- 
" mission be confined to the male descendants of original members 
" (including collateral branches as contemplated by the original 
" Constitution), or to the male descendants of such officers of the Army 
" and Navy as may have been entitled to admission, but who failed 
" to avail themselves thereof within the time limited by the Constitu- 
" tion; or to the male descendants of such officers of the Army and 
" Navy of the Revolution as may have resigned with honor, or left the 
" service with reputation, or to the male collateral relative of any 
" officer who died in service without leaving issue. 

2 — " Resolved, Th&t the male descendants of those who were members 
" of State Societies which have been dissolved, may be admitted into 
" existing State Societies upon such terms as those Societies may think 
" proper and prescribe. 

3 — " Resolved, That the foregoing resolutions be proposed to the 
" several State Societies and their assent be requested thereto; and upon 
" such assent being given by each of the remaining Societies, the 
" Secretary-General shall issue notice thereof to each Society, and 
" thereupon the said resolutions shall become operative and ea^h State 
" Society shall he at liberty to act upon the power given thereby" 

At the Special meeting of the General Society held in the City of Trenton on the 
22d May, 1856, at which neither the Rhode Island nor the New York State Society 
was represented, it was unanimously 

" Resolved, Th&t the resolution adopted at the last Triennial meeting, 
" requiring the assent of the several State Societies to the resolutions 
" in relation to the admission of members, as the condition on which the 
" said resolutions shall become operative, be and the same is hereby 
" repealed." 



10 (2r|)e S)Ocietp of t^t Cincinnati 



act of f ^torporation 

PASBED MABCH 13TB, 1806. 

CommontDtalti) of fRntaat^usttte, 

IN THE TBAR OP OUB LORD ONE THOUSAND EIGHT HDNDBKD AND BIX. 

An Act to incorporate Benjamin Lincoln and others into a Society by the name of 
The Society of the Cincinnati within the State of Massachusetts. 

Whereas, Upon the dissolution of the American Revolutionary Army, in the year of our Lord 
one thousand seven hundred and eighty-three, Benjamin Lincoln and others, ofl&cers in the Massa- 
chusetts line of said army, did associate for the purpose of forming a fimd to be for ever thereafter 
appropriated for the relief of the indigent members of said association, and the widows and orphans 
of said members; and in order to secure the said fund, and fulfil the charitable designs of the said 
institution, have petitioned to be incorporated, — 

Sect. 1. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court as- 
sembled, and by the authority of the same, that the said Benjamin Lincoln and his associates 
together with such others as may be admitted members of said association, be, and they hereby 
are, incorporated into a society by the name of The Massachusetts Society of the Cincinnati, 
with power to have a common seal; to make contracts relative to the objects of the said charitable 
fund ; to sue and to be sued ; to establish by-laws and orders for the regulation of said society and 
the preservation and application of the fvmds thereof, provided the same be not repugnant to the 
Constitution and laws of this Commonwealth; and to take, hold, and possess any estate real or 
personal, by subscription, gift, grant, purchase, devise, or otherwise; and the same to improve, 
lease, exchange, or sell, and convey for the sole benefit of said institution, provided the value of 
the real estate of said society shall never exceed twenty thousand dollars, and the annual income 
of the whole estate of said society shall not exceed five thousand dollars. 

Sect. 2. Be it further enacted that the said society shall meet in Boston, on the fourth day 
of July, annually (unless the same should fall upon a Sunday, in which case the annual meeting 
shall always be holden on the day succeeding), for the purpose of electing by ballot from their 
members a president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and such other officers as may be neces- 
sary to manage their concerns, all which officers shall hold their said offices for one year, and until 
others shall be elected to succeed them; and the officers for the time being shall publish a notifica- 
tion of the time and place of each annual meeting in at least two newspapers, at least fourteen days 
before holding the same. Upon any urgent occasion, the president or vice-president, or in their 
absence the secretary, may appoint a special meeting of said society to be notified in the same 
manner as annual meetings. 

Sect. 3. Be it further enacted, that the president, vice-president, and other officers of said 
society, chosen on the fourth day of July last, shall have the same authority to manage the con- 
cerns thereof as is hereby vested in like officers to be hereafter annually chosen; provided, never- 
theless, that this act of incorporation shall be determinable at the pleasure of the legislature. 



€ht ^odetp of tlje Ctiwinnati u 



Bj^lLatos 



Magfiai^ugett^ Mtittp of ttie 4rtnttnnatt 

Adopted July 4th, 1895. 



ARTICLE I. 

Offlcers. 



Section 1. The Officers of the Society shall consist of a President, a Vice-President, a Sec- 
retary, a Treasurer, an Assistant Secretary, an Assistant Treasurer, and a Committee of twelve 
members, who, with the Officers above named, shall constitute a Standing Committee,— and a 
Fmance Committee of three members. 

Election and Term of Officers. 

Section 2. The Officers shall be chosen by ballot at the Annual Meeting on the Fourth of 
July of each year, and shall hold office for the term of one year or until their successors are chosen. 

Duties of Officers. 

Section 3. The President, or in his absence the Vice-President, shall preside at all meetings 
of the Society and of the Standing Committee. 

The Secretary shall keep the records of the Society and have the custody and care of all records 
and papers of the Society. He shall call all meetings of the Society by mailing notice to each 
member, and by publication in at least two newspapers in Boston fourteen days at least before the 
meeting. 

The Assistant Secretary shall keep the records of the Standing Committee and shall assist the 
Secretary in his duties, and act in his absence. He shall call meetings of the Standing Committee 
by reasonable notice to each member, and shall publish notice in two newspapeis in Boston of 
meetings for granting aid to beneficiaries. 

The Treasurer shall have charge of the funds and property of the Society, and shall have power 
with the approval in writing of a majority of the Finance Committee, to invest and re-invest the 
same and transfer any stocks or other property, and shall sign aU checks and drafts. 

The Assistant Treasurer shall assist the Treasurer as required by him, or in case of the latter's 
absence or inability, or in case of vacancy in the office of Treasurer, shall perform his duties and 
have the powers herein conferred upon the Treasurer. 

Duties of Standing Committee. 

Section 4. The Standing Committee shall have charge of the welfare and general concerns of 
the Society, as well as of all matters committed to them by it. They shall hold meetings at such 
times as they shall determine, but at least three times a year. They shall, from the income of the 
general fund of the Society, afford reUef to members, or their famihes, or descendants of deceased 
members, whom they shall deem worthy. They shall consider all applications for admission to 
the Society, and recommend the election of such applicant as they deem to be entitled and worthy. 
They shall keep a record of their proceedings, which shall be open to inspection by any member 
of the Society and shall be read to the Society at each annual meeting. Five members shall 
constitute a quorum at any meeting of the Committee for the transaction of ordinary business, 
but no appropriation of money shall be made unless seven members be present. Special meetings 
of the Standing Committee may be called at any time by direction of the President, and shall be 
called upon the request in writing of five members. 

Finance Committee. 

Section 5. It shall be the duty of the Finance Committee to audit the accounta of the 
Treasurer and report to the Society in writing, and to consider all investments. 



12 Cjbe ftoctetp of t^t Cincinnati 

ARTICLE II. MEETINGS. 
Qtuyrum. 
Section 1. Fifteen members shall constitute a quorum of the Society. 

Anntud Meetings. 

Section 2. The annual meeting of the Society shall be held on the Fourth of July of each 
year. Special meetings may be called at any time by direction of the President, and shall be called 
upon the request in writing of ten members of the Society, stating the object of the meeting. 



ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP. 

Applications. 

Section. 1. All applications for admission shall be in writing to the Standing Committee, 
who shall consider and report upon the same to the Society at its annual meeting. 

Eligibility. 

Section 2. No person shall be eligible to membership who shall be under twenty-one years 
of age. Every applicant to be eligible must have the qualifications stated in the Institution of 
the Society, or under the Rule of 1854 adopted by the General Society. Among descendants of 
original members or others who shall be eligible, this Society reserves the absolute right to choose 
such one as seems to it best fitted to promote the ends of the Society, but it will ordinarily be guided 
by the following principles: 

I. The succession shall descend in the eldest male line so long as it continues imbroken. 

II. If the eldest male line fails, the next male line shall be taken. 

III. In case of the failure of the male line, the line which descended the greatest number of 
generations from the original member before a failure of males, shall ordinarily be taken. 

IV. The claims of descendants through female lines shall be determined by the same rules 
of primogeniture as in case of claims through the male line, so far as applicable. 

V. A waiver by any person shall be regarded only as the renunciation of a claim, not as the 
transfer of a right. 

VI. No waiver, express or implied, shall be considered as affecting the rights of a minor son, 
— except for special reasons satisfactory to the Society. 

VII. Where for any reason the Society deviates from the strict rules in electing a member, it 
shall not be considered as changing permanently the order of succession, but upon the death of 
such member, the old order may be restored. 

VIII. As the Society for the support of the principles to which it is pledged may justly re- 
quire its membership to be kept full, it may upon satisfactory evidence that an eligible person has 
had knowledge of his claim and neglected to apply within a reasonable time, — treat it as a waiver 
of the claim. If a vacancy has existed for many years, the Society may admit any descendant of 
the original member at its discretion. 

EHections to Membership. 

Section 3. Applicants whose cases have been favorably reported upon by the Standing 
Committee, may be elected to membership in the Society at the annual meeting by ballot. 

Entrance Fee. 

Section 4. Where the applicant succeeds an original or other member who has paid his con- 
tribution, he shall not be called upon to pay any additional sum; otherwise he shall pay five hun- 
dred dollars before he becomes a member, and shall thereby be entitled to all the rights and priv- 
ileges of an original member. 



Cl)t ^ocictp of t^t C-iwtttiiati 13 



Declaration. 

Section 5. Persons so elected shall become entitled to the rights and privileges of membera 
upon making and subscribing in presence of the Society the following declaration: 

State Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts. 
July 4, 19 . I, „ do declare that I am 



deceased, late a member of the State Society of the Cincinnati of Massachusetts, and having had 
the honor to be admitted as a member of the said Society in his place and stead, I do hereby most 
solemnly promise and engage that I will be guided and governed by the rules of the said Society, 
which may have been or may hereafter be established agreeably to the Institution as signed by 
the original members. 

In testimony whereof I hereimto subscribe my name, and pledge my sacred honor. 

Provided however that in case the person so admitted is in active service in the Army or Navy 
of the United States, and is imable to attend the next regular meeting following his admission, he 
may make or subscribe to the declaration before a notary public or justice of the peace and trans- 
mit the same to the Secretary to be afiixed to the record book of declaration of the Society. If 
the person admitted is not a descendant of a member, the declaration may be altered to conform 
to the facts of his case. 

Certificate. 

Section 6. Every member admitted to the Society shall be entitled to a diploma or certifi- 
cate in the form approved by the Standing Committee; signed by the President and countersigned 
by the Secretary. 

Amendmenta. 

Section 7. These By-Laws may be altered or amended at any meeting of the Society, the 
call for which shall state the substance of the alterations or amendments proposed. 

tiult^ Itlegariitng l^onorar|i fS^tmhttH 

Voted, That, in the election of honorary members, it is distinctly understood by the Society, 
that such election does not confer the right of an original member, or give an honorary member 
any title to any portion of the funds, nor are they entitled to vote, or eligible to any office. 

Voted, That the admission of honorary members of the Cincinnati, for life only, shall be con- 
fined to those who shall be eminent lineal descendants or representatives of those who were dis- 
tinguished by high military or civil virtues and services in the Revolutionary War. 

Voted, That no person be admitted an honorary member of the Society, except upon recom- 
mendation of the Standing Committee. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 



011 697 661 4 



LIBRARY OF CONGRE 




011 697 661 4 



Holliiig( 

pH 8i 

MOlRunH) 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




011 697 661 4 



HoUinger 

pH &5 

MiU Run R)3.2193 



